Brothers
by TrinityRayne
Summary: Oneshot following "God is a Comedian". Slight hurt Kevin, protective Tommy. Dumb title but I couldn't come up with anything else. Please R&R:


**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Donnellys or any of the recognizable characters. **

Kevin impatiently tapped his fingers on the top of his mother's dining table, briefly thinking about how she swatted his hand anytime she was in the room when his nervous fingers were tapping away. But she wasn't there and it gave him a minute amount of pleasure, this very tiny act of defiance.

Though he'd never admit it, Kevin always hated being alone in the small apartment he and his brothers shared with their mother, especially on a night like this. No matter what, most of the time he was usually with _someone_; whether it be Jimmy, Tommy, Seanie, Joey Ice Cream, or even the occasional girl whom he had the balls to ask out. Very rarely did he actually end up alone. He hated it. With no one to counterbalance it, his mind would begin spinning out of control, bringing up various situations, whether good or bad, and he would build them up and twist them around until he found fault with something he did or didn't do. In the otherwise silent apartment, Kevin's own mind was deafening.

It was nearly one AM when he finally heard a key turning in the front door deadbolt. Had to be Tommy since Ma continued her vigil over Sean at the hospital.

"Tommy!" he exclaimed, clambering to his feet to greet his brother.

Tommy glanced over at him, surprised by the unexpected volume of his voice. "What?"

"N-nothing," Kevin sank back down into the chair. "Just surprised to see you is all." He shrank back from Tommy's trademark stare, "Quit lookin' at me."

"I'm not looking at you," Tommy said nonchalantly. He entered the living/dining room and sat across the table from the slightly younger man. By the strained expression on Kevin's face, he should've come home sooner. "How long you been here?"

Kevin shrugged, "A while. Where you been?"

"Out," Tommy offered an intentionally vague answer. He suddenly grabbed a handful of napkins from the holder sitting on the table and thrust them towards Kevin.

Kevin gave him a confused look, "What?"

Tommy motioned upward, "Your head's bleeding again."

"Damn," Kevin pressed the palm of his hand against his temple, feeling the sticky fluid streaking down the side of his face. "Fucking truck driver."

"Yeah, good thing he got hit by a bus, huh?" Tommy raised his eyebrows expectantly, still angry but a sarcastic edge to his voice and the slight hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth indicating it was forgotten for the most part.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed.

"Here," Tommy handed him the wad of napkins. "Get blood on the tablecloth and Ma will kill you." He squinted, trying to get a look at the wound without appearing too concerned. It didn't seem very deep, not bad enough to need stitches but definitely enough to give Kevin a good rattle. "Hey, Kev, how many fingers am I holding up?" he held up four digits.

Kevin rolled his eyes, "Stop."

"Just answer the question."

"No."

"Kevin-"

"Dammit, Tommy! Leave me alone!"

Tommy dropped his hand, "You probably have a concussion."

"I didn't pass out, Tommy," Kevin said as a matter of fact. "And I remember what happened so I can't have a concussion."

"You can have a concussion without either of those things, Kevin."

Kevin threw down the napkins in frustration, "How the hell do you know? You went to fucking Art School, not fucking medical school! You're not a doctor!" He stood up so fast that his chair flew backwards and slammed into the wall before toppling over. "Leave me the hell alone, Tommy," he stormed into the nearest room, the one Tommy and Jimmy shared, which meant only one door locked- a flaw in his escape plan.

Now Tommy knew he needed to tread lightly, something he rarely did with his siblings. They had a habit of being blunt with one another and not bothering to spare feelings. But if Kevin were truly injured as he suspected then he couldn't help the sudden outburst. He went over to the French doors, whose window panes were painted over for privacy, and knocked twice before entering.

Kevin moaned from the bed he'd thrown himself down on, "Go away!"

Tommy sat on the edge of the bed, playfully knocking Kevin's leg aside. "It's no big deal, Kev."

"Then why are you making it into one?"

"Just tell me that you're at 100 percent and I'll leave you alone."

"God, Tommy, you…just…" Kevin rolled over, resting the uninjured side of his head against Jimmy's pillow. It smelled. Not good either. "Why does it matter?"

"Answer me, Kevin."

"Okay, fine, my head hurts like a bitch. Happy?"

"Yeah, Kev, I'm ecstatic. This is exactly what I want to deal with today."

"You don't gotta deal with anything, Tommy."

It was Tommy's turn to roll his eyes, "I wouldn't but Ma would kick my ass if you went to sleep and never woke up."

That got Kevin's attention. "Really? Can that happen?"

"Yeah, it can," Tommy started to stand. "See ya, Kev."

"Wait! You can't leave me!"

"You said you wanted me to go."

"I lied."

Tommy smiled as he sat back down, "You do that a lot."

"Just…don't leave me, Tommy. I don't wanna die."

"You're not gonna die," Tommy said gently. "I'm right, here, buddy, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. I know, a little corny towards the end but I couldn't help it;) This is only my 2nd fanfic and the only one I've actually completed so R&R, no flames please.**_


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